Hand Candy with an "I Love You"

We made a lot of valentines to send to family this year. Whew! I'm not kidding, there were a lot! My little guy came up with these little hand candy beauties while I was teaching a piano lesson this week: Valentine jewelry for his older girl cousins and younger aunts. Fun huh? Want to know how to make some of our Hand Candy?

Start with a pipe cleaner and a felt heart.

1- Cut 2 little slits in each side of the heart.

2- Slide the pipe cleaner through like this:

3- Wrap the pipe cleaner around your finger (half is enough, these show what it looks like if you use a whole pipe cleaner.) The rest of the photos show just half of a pipe cleaner.4- Hot Glue a jewel (we used hearts) onto the front.Ooooh pretty Hand Candy!Valentine's Day comes once a year, but Love doesn't! Need some ideas for sharing the love?I found this great list Here.Right before I moved, I was reading this book. I had to leave it behind and still need to finish it. But the premise made a lot of sense.People hear "I love you" differently. This book was about speaking so that the ones you love can hear you.

If you want to check out more about it, Amazon lets you take a sneak peak.

If you are wondering how you "hear" those I love you words, check out this quiz. (could be a fun thing to do for the two of you on Valentines!)

I've noticed that when I take the time to invest in my kids one-on-one I see a BIG difference in their behavior. They feel validated and play so much better together and are more independent.

My little guy says this everyday, "What are we going to do for FUN, Mom?" In his language, "Mom, I'm ready to do something with YOU." We break out the mess and work on a project together. We learn. We have fun. We build memories. And a foundation of Love. Mom it Forward shares some of her ideas on this subject Here.

I've been thinking about some fun traditions to do for Valentine's Day. Some we've already done. And some I'm saving for the big day. I stumbled upon this list and thought I'd pass it on. The process of our projects is at least as important as the finished product, right? Share some love by doing a Little Project with someone you love. But don't eat the Hand Candy :)